Yoo 201 - Frankenthon PROOF

PROOF!

Yes, this picture is a proof and not mine but I love it for two...wait, three reasons:

1. It says PROOF right across the middle. Like, yo, I just finished this marathon. And I have the picture to prove it 
2. It's a semi-flattering running shot (read "Kyooyoo's legs don't look like an ocean of rippling fat waves").  And those rarely happen for me (see below).
3. Bear is standing in the background with a camera like some paparazzi creeper...what are you trying to capture boy?? 

Photo that proves bullet 2:

Can you just see the fat waves rippling throughout the thighs?  Can you??

Yeah, me too.

But I'm still thumbs up about life.  And those fatty thighs carried me 26.2 miles, so, I'll keep them.

The day began at 4:30 am.  I remember it all quite clearly.  Because who wouldn't remember sharing a small hotel room with 4 other girls and being awoken by an errant alarm clock at 4:30?

It's really hard to put sounds like REALLY LOUD STATIC into words.

KERSHHHKERSHHHHKERSHHH?

KERRRQUUUEKERRRQUUUUEKERRRQUUUEKERRRQUUUE?

I'm not really sure.  But some twisted individual (maybe it was an unhappy maid playing a cruel joke?) set that alarm clock for 4:30.  And it wasn't any one of us.

KERSHHHKERSHHHHKERSHHH!

Someone let out a startled scream.  I started, quickly realized we weren't getting shot at, and then rolled over and back into dreamland.  Alisha, who was the unfortunate one closest to the alarm clock, beat her hands on it for a few moments before turning it off, mumbling all the while.

Soon we were all back to our previous, slumbering states.

Until 9 minutes later.

KERRRQUUUEKERRRQUUUUEKERRRQUUUEKERRRQUUUE!

It was just as shocking the second time.  But, some mumbling (and not just from Alisha this time), more hitting around the alarm clock, a bit more mumbling (something about hating and radios and people), and a couple more "roll-overs" and we were all back to sleep.

For another 9 minutes.

Quick learners aren't we??

KERSHHHKERSHHKERRRQUUUE!

"OHMUHGOODNESS just pull the plug!!"

Not sure who shouted that but it might have been me.  With the alarm officially disabled, quiet returned.  But again, not for long.

"Hehe".  Someone let a giggle slip.

"Hahaha".  Another one soon answered.

There was a bit of anxious silence.  I was trying desperately to stifle my own laughter, but my body betrayed me.

"SNORTmuahahahahahahahaha!"  And with that, Alisha and I broke loose on one of our biggest laughing fits to date.  We.  Couldn't.  Stop.  And no one would join us (it's like they were trying to sleep or something...)!  It was just us.  Losing it at 4:30 in the morning in a random hotel room in Austin.

Maybe we were nervous?  We'll blame it on nerves.

The laughing fit subsided a good 10 minutes later and Alisha and I decided to face the day.  We grabbed some goodies and trekked out to the lobby to eat our pre-race fare (bagels, strawberries, and granolar (yes, with the "r") bars) on a couple chairs in front of the elevator.  It really seemed like such a natural place to dine at 5 in the morning and really I think we were kind of hoping that someone would pop out of the elevator at which point we could announce to them that we were about to run a marathon and soak up their response and the attention. 

But those cold, bare doors yielded no friendly strangers to share our anticipation with, so we packed up and moseyed back to the room.

A wardrobe change, a tense "we're lost and we don't know where this marathon is supposed to start!" episode in the car, and a few bathroom trips later and we were at the starting line.

Bear gave me a big hug.  Katie snapped some pictures.  My iPod started playing "Monster Mash" (it's almost inappropriate to kick off the Frankenthon to any other soundtrack, really).  And....

BANG!

I was off.

 

It looked a little something like that.  Only still dark outside.

There was running.  And more running.  And "Kyooyoo, just start slow.  Keep a comfortable pace.  You can kick it later." going through my head.  And also Monster Mash.  I pushed along to a soundtrack of various Halloween songs ("If there's something strange, in your neighborhood, who ya gonna call?".....that's right.), and my normal mix of everything else.  Country.  Film scores.  Rock.  Anything to keep the spirits up.

The whole marathon went by really fast.  Except the first half.

This is where I could mention that Bear and Katie skipped out on me to go eat breakfast at a friend's house and missed cheering me on at the first 3 of 6 cheering sections and left me without energy gels but I won't....wait, yes I will mention that.

In their defense, I was running pretty fast (*shining fingernails*) and they did make up for it later.  But it was hard not to be bitter for the first two hours!  After I'd passed 2 cheering sections with no sign of them, I really started to wonder.  "This is my marathon!  They came along to support me!  I've been training for this for 19 weeks!  I'm trying to run my best time!  I need those energy gels!"  All thoughts going through my head.  I had my phone with me and tried calling but the park I was running in had no reception (in the middle of Austin...really AT&T??).  So, after trying to calm myself and give them the benefit of the doubt (and upon approaching the third cheering section without any sign of them), I got a text from Bear.  Answering my "Where are you ???"  (count them, 3 question marks...) text.

"I'm at the mile 9 marker."

Awesome.  I was at mile 14.

The marathon route was a loop so he ran a ways to meet up with me and get me my energy gels so I could resupply my utility belt (very different from a fanny pack, people).  And tell me how uber sorry he was.  And do you know what I did??  Only the most heartless thing EVER!  Like when your parents tell you they're disappointed in you!

"I needed you Bear.  You really let me down."  I grabbed the energy gels and just ran past.

How horrible is that??  Pretty horrible.  Sometimes I can be mean when I'm running and have to interact with people.  He had gone out of his way to be supportive that weekend and had already expressed how sorry he was for missing the first two cheer sections.  And I can't really blame the boy for being hungry.  And I did only leave him with energy gels and graham crackers (never mind that I was running for 4 hours and survived just fine on those...).  And he was walking around with my gear bag (that looked like a diaper bag) slung around his shoulder so he could resupply me at my whim.  Rational thought returned soon after and I pondered on that.

And listened to Monster Mash again.

I saw Bear again at mile 18 and pretty much told him I was sorry.  Which was more of a friendly look and a "can I have another energy gel?" request (in a very nice tone!  the tone says all!).  He gave me his "I forgive you again and you know I'm still really sorry" look and handed me another energy gel.  Peace was restored and I finished the last 2 loops with a much more appreciable attitude.  Bear cheered and carried the resupply.  Katie ran with me for a few minutes here and there.  And I got to enjoy running on a trail next to water.  WATER!  That's a rarity this year in Texas.

Do you want to hear the real war story though??  Ok, it's not that good, but I got a crippling stomach cramp at mile 6 that CRUSHED my dreams of finishing...for about 5 minutes.  I never cramp up!  But, naturally, the time that I do would be during a race.  It came on suddenly and reduced me to a tender walk.  Other runners started passing me.  One offered to call in a medic team.  A medic team?  Did I really look that bad??  I waved them off and said I was fine.  And then let out a few whimpers.  My stomach was tying some serious knots!  I hadn't even eaten anything weird!  Trying not to let myself lose hope, I focused on taking deep, slow breaths (all yoga-like).  And when that didn't work I just started hitting my stomach and told it "stomach, you can either work with me, or against me but we're finishing this marathon and the sooner we do the sooner we all get pizza!" and that seemed to fix the problem.  My stomach really likes pizza.

And really, the rest of the marathon was quite enjoyable.  I was still feeling strong at mile 20 and started pushing myself harder and harder.  I had set out to run a sub 4 hour marathon and as the run progressed, I realized I was on track to beat that, by quite a bit.  And then I started thinking "I wonder what a Boston-qualifying time is for my age group?".  Because that would be pretty rad to qualify for Boston.  And I kept running faster wishing I knew what I was aiming for.  But mostly enjoying the run.

Katie joined up with me again for the last mile and we pushed it in together, finishing my third full marathon in, check it:

3:46:46.

Not Boston-qualifying but 14 minutes faster than my stretch goal and over 40 minutes faster than my personal best.  I was a pretty happy camper (or runner).

(And don't you just love that picture??  Bear carrying the support bag, Kyooyoo joyously crossing the finish line, and the new PR blazed on the time clock.  I owe some serious props to either Janelle or Tina...can't remember who was taking pictures right then.)

PROOF!

Have a great day :-)

Yoo 200 - On Kyooyoo

Being the 200th post on this blog, I figure it's time I explain something.

THE TITLE OF MY BLOG!

Is Kyooyoo.

And that generates some questions.

Like what is that?  And how do you say it?  And why?

Well, I'll get into the what.  And how to pronounce it.  And do I really have to answer the why question??  (*whiney voice*)  I kind of hate why questions.  And I don't know why!  Mostly because they are not always easy questions to answer.  Also, maybe it's because there's no real concrete answer and if there is an answer it can change.  AT.  ANY.  TIME.  Yes, there is a time and a place for why.  And sometimes I do try to answer the question.  When it's important.  But my answers aren't usually very deep.  Or easy to put into words.  And my brain hurts a little more after the attempt.  So I'll leave the good why answers to the good why answer-ers and just answer you this why:

Because I needed a name for my blog.

Period.  Ok not period.

I needed a unique name.  And probably one kind of quickly.  Because I'm not usually patient.  And I was probably perusing the dictionary like I often do (not really) and saw that the letter Q looked really funny in the pronunciation section.  And then (naturally) I noticed the U pronunciation was spelled JUST LIKE IT (without the k, obviously).  And then my sleep-deprived, procrastination-proned college brain probably thought "hehe, that looks funny".  And then it probably thought "hehe, that sounds funny".  And then the little "I need a name for my blog" thought-neuron floating around collided with the "hehe, kyoo and yoo look and sound funny" thought-neuron.  And BAM!  (all Emeril-like, yeah).  I had a name for my blog.  And a pseudonym.  Cause those were cool back then, don't you know?

But!  Just for kicks and giggles (because who doesn't giggle when they kick?  Or kick when they giggle?).  I came up with a kind of deep and philosophical (for an IT major!) reason for this title choice.

So it seemed a little more meaningful than "hehe, that looks funny...AND sounds funny!".

Because no brainchild (or blogchild?) wants to claim those kind of inception parents.

Continuing on!

Let's say it.  It's really not as weird as it looks!  Like the letter "Q" and the letter "U".  Now together!  "Kyooyoo."

"Kyooyoo."

Good.  No with some gusto!

"KYOOYOO!"

Fun, right?  Ok, maybe not.

But look at the letters.  How cool is the letter Q??  It's unique, fun to write, and worth 10 points in Scrabble.  Enough said. 

But it's kind of less effective by itself.  Lets face it, how many words can you spell with just Q?  A few hundred.  Give or take a few hundred.  And they're mostly not words at all.  But if you add the letter 'U'....oh the POSSIBILITIES!  Mathematicians get their quadratic and athletes get their quadriceps and babies get their quilts and people get their quirks and nutritionists get their quinoa!  The world is a better place!

And that's how I feel.  Kind of like the letter Q.  Unique.  Fun.  Worth (at least) 10 points in Scrabble.  I just love my person!  (In the most humble of ways, of course).  But I'm really less effective by myself.  And being kind of an introvert, I need to remind myself of this.  I'm better with my U's.  I need them.  Life is better when I recognize them and reflect on them and share them.

What are they?

Some come and go.  Some last longer than others.  But there are always U's enabling me.  Right now I can list work and San Antonio and running and triathlons and Bear and my condo and the French Horn and my family and my faith as some of my big and most favorite U's.  But there are so many others to choose from as well!  And what better way to capture and preserve them than in writing and pictures?

And now that I came up with all that, I just realized I've been titling my posts wrong.  I'm Kyoo.  The posts are my yoos.  I guess Imma need to change the post titles from here on out to reflect that...

So there!  My title is more pertinent than it looks.  This blog is Kyoo writing about all her yoos.  The fun and the silly and the "that's life".  So don't take me too seriously.  Laugh with me.  Shake your head in embarrassment.  Feel sorry for those that have to put up with me.  And most importantly...

Have a great day :-)

Kyoo 199 - Couple Challenge

I can't remember exactly what started it, though it probably stemmed from my nagging. Which goes something like this:

"Bear (that's what I'm calling the Gregman nowadays), let me tell you how much I love running. I love running! It's such a stress relief. I could just run forever."

Bear will usually nod his head and give me his "yes, you tell me this everyday" look. If I looked carefully I could probably detect a subtle eye roll in his look, too.

Not terribly happy with his unenthusiastic response I'll continue.

"Bear you just don't understand!"

Followed by more dribble about how amazing it feels to run and how good it makes me feel and how I can just run and think and yadda yadda yadda.

Doesn't that sound like a fun conversation?? I mean who doesn't like to listen to an endorphin-stoked runner talk about how amazing running is! (and I usually only see Bear right after a run so I'm pretty amped up on those endorphins).

This conversation happens on occasion. With occasion being about every day. That I go on a run. So 5 times a week. Give or take. Sometimes I'll shake things up and talk about swimming. Just to keep it interesting, ya know?

Then there's another similar conversation that's repeatedly exchanged o'er the Kyooyoo-Bear airwaves. This one goes something like this (Bear being the initiator this time):

"So, I got my book today."

Kyooyoo (instantly turning absent-minded at the mention of a book, maybe): "Uh-huh, another book?"

I'll start multi-tasking with my head awkwardly cocked to the side holding the phone against my shoulder to free up my hands while Bear excitedly tells me about how amazing his new book is and how it's such a stress relief to read it and how good it makes him feel and how he just loves it.

Sound familiar? Ugh. It's like he gets endorphins from reading. Is that possible??

And then he'll tell me how many pages he read during his lunch break.

"500 pages!!" I'll exclaim. Question mark. Question mark.

"It was a little more." He'll nonchalantly respond back.

And this is where the conversations tend to reference each other.

"How do you read so much??" I'll ask him, completely flabbergasted (in the most flabbery of gasted ways).

"How do you run so much?" Bear will rhetorically reply.

Ok!

That conversation happens ever so often. With often being every time Bear gets a new book. Which is about once a week. Give or take. But mostly give.

After having these conversations for months on end (I've been training intently for this marathon since April...), a challenge brewed in the car one day.

I remember exactly where we were. And I want to say we were driving to church. It sounds better that way, right? Either way, we had just had our "Iloverunning! Ilovereading!" conversation when the Bear piped up.

"Remember how running to me is like reading to you? (we remember when a lot, we do). I don't understand why you love running and you don't understand why I love reading. There's nothing wrong about it and it probably won't change."

I most likely realized this was a true statement but still started desperately racing through my mind to find a good argument. I had to have a good argument! Running was better and he needed to understand that!!

Yes, it's a sad thing, but the competitive mind is never at ease people.

Bear laughed at my expression. Something like a small child not getting their way.

And then his brilliant plan lit up his face.

"What if I pick 5 books for you to read by the end of the year?"

"5 books!?" I probably exclaimed. "Why would I read 5 books?? That's so many!", the whiney voice I'm sure coming in to play.

"If you finish them I'll train for and run a half-marathon next year. It might help us understand each other better."

Ugh.

He would turn it into a challenge! He knows I can't back down from a good challenge!

But wait.

*mischievous smile*

He'll have to start running.

*more mischievous smiling*

My plan that I didn't even know was a plan was in motion.

*a little more mischievous smiling*

And then he named the 3 books. (maybe I forgot to mention I talked him down to 3...based on my current reading level...and desire to read...I mean come on, he was only agreeing to run a HALF marathon, let's not get too crazy). And my mischievous smile was wiped clean:

1). Jesus the Christ (Gulp. Not that that's 800 pages of tiny print or anything, but that's 800 pages of tiny print. Tiny!)
2). The Book of Mormon (Mr. Ihavereaditfortytimesandyoushouldtoo apparently)
and
3). The Count of Monte Cristo (Bear wanted to throw a "fun" one in there. His personal favorite. And something about the abridged version being acceptable. Darn straight!)

A daunting list for a non-reader (maybe that's just me...). But I guess a half marathon might seem daunting to a non-runner (I don't know...).

And so it is, several months later, the couple challenge is in full swing. Bear is experiencing the aches and pains and joys and (joyous) strains of a regular running regime and Kyooyoo is through (or is it thru?) Count of Monte Cristo, belly-button-deep in Jesus the Christ (that's OVER half-way! *happy dance*), and past 2 Nephi in the Book of Mormon (all downhill from there, right??).

It's been fun.

Annnnnnd, (don't yell this to the Bear!) I might be enjoying reading.

Also, don't spill your beverage, but I might have read a couple extra books too.

About running.

Have a great day :-)